After a gap of three years, the Central Railways on Saturday resumed mini train services on the Neral-Matheran line. The train service on the scenic route was shut since 2019 due to the rain-damaged tracks. The narrow-gauge line progressing through lush greenery has been a favourite trip for the Mumbaikars and is one of the main tourist attractions of Matheran, a small hill station located 100 km from Mumbai.
The Central Railway has restarted two daily down services between Neral-Matheran and two up services between Matheran-Neral. The first service from Neral departed at 8:50 am on Saturday and reached Matheran at 11:30 am. The second service was at 2:20 pm and reached the hill station at 5 pm.
A video of the mini train service, which was shared by a Twitter handle Mumbai Railway Users yesterday, has gone viral on social media and several people expressed their joy over the reopening of the 20 km service that suffered heavy damage during the monsoon in August 2019. Netizens congratulated the railway for bringing back the service despite the route remaining a difficult terrain. "Thanks Central Railway for the hard work they have done to bring back toy train back on track. In govt depart workers can do impossible things, only they need support. Heavy rain and uneven terrain have created so many hurdles for them to complete the job.